A unique ball-shaped mic with dual capsules and 3 settings, versatile for a variety of applications.

The Blue Snowball USB mic finally gives you a USB microphone that's not only easy to use, but that also sounds as good on your desktop as it does in a professional recording studio. Whether you're recording a guitar at your kitchen table or a complete band in the studio, the Blue Snowball captures the sound with the kind of detail unheard of before in a USB microphone.

The Blue Snowball is a direct plug-and-play mic that connects to either a Mac or PC computer with no additional software needed. With its dual microphone capsule design and unique 3-pattern switch (cardioid, cardioid with -10dB pad, and omni), the Snowball handles everything from soft vocals to the loudest garage band - and it's an ideal mic for podcasting.

The Blue Snowball has a unique swivel mount on the bottom the mic body. Be sure to position the Snowball over the center leg of your tripod (not included) to further prevent tipping. Once mounted, you can gently pivot the Snowball microphone back and forth for optimum positioning in front of the sound source.

Once safely mounted, connect the Blue Snowball to the USB port on your Macintosh or Windows computer. Make sure that the active, on-axis side of the diaphragm (the side with the Blue logo) is facing the desired source. When connected, the LED just above the Blue logo glows red, indicating that the Snowball mic is powered up and ready to roll.

My previous career was 25+ years as an audio technical engineer. I feel more than qualified to review this mic.

I got the mic for recording podcasts, audiobooks, and for working on transcriptions with a writing client. I made a faulty assumption that ALL USB mics have headphone outputs, but I was very wrong. With that said, this mic for the price is a incredibly buy. While it has a bit of a funky retro appearance, it functions very well indeed. With the option of an omni polar pattern you can work around proximity affect if you need to work the mic closely and avoid low end build up in your voice.

For anyone who is using any number of the free or low cost recording software available (Audacity, GarageBand, etc.) this mic will be a very solid performer over time. It's worth the investment. If you can, get the funky shock mount too because it makes it that much more "environmentally friendly."

I bought this mic thinking it would be good enough to record some vocals, maybe guitar, etc. I thought it would be a little noisy and all the expecting things that one should expect with a USB mic. I was absolutely wowed! This microphone surpassed my expectations. So much so I'm still scratching my head. Crystal clear recording, no hum no cheap sounding plastic sound. Love this microphone and I feel like I got more for my money. I also wanted to add I'm using it with garageband. Also, I love the "classic" appearance it has. I can't believe other top mic companies aren't cashing in on USB microphone development. Seems to me this mic has set the bar for quality. One more thing before I forget, I wanted to add that this mic also has 3 polar patterns cardioid, cardioid with -10db pad and Omnidirectional as well. Best USB mic I've ever used!